The revision of the Insolvency Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000, as well as the harmonisation of substantive Insolvency Law will be the main focus of the Civil Justice Conference “Insolvency Law: Recent developments towards harmonisation”. The conference will be held on 12 March at the Zappeion Megaron in Athens.

“Modernising the EU’s insolvency rules will facilitate the survival and recovery of businesses. It is important to give viable businesses and honest entrepreneurs a second chance”, said Minister of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights Charalampos Athanasiou during last week’s Justice and Home Affairs Council in Brussels.

The economic crisis has led to an increase in the number of failing businesses. About 50% of all new businesses in the EU do not survive the first five years of their life. From 2009 to 2011, an average of 200.000 firms went bankrupt per year. About one-quarter of these bankruptcies have a cross-border element. It is estimated that 1.7 million jobs are lost due to insolvencies every year.

The revision of the Insolvency Regulation responds to the need to make cross‐border insolvency proceedings more efficient and quicker and help small and medium businesses (SMEs) overcome the financial crisis. The Greek Presidency sets great store by the proposal and seeks to reach a final agreement on this file by the end of its six month term.

Minister Athanasiou will give an opening speech at the conference, which will be attended by prominent policy makers, judges, theoreticians and practitioners. Apart from the revision of the Insolvency Regulation, experts will be searching for ways to better harmonise Insolvency Law in the EU. The conference will also provide for an opportunity to present personal Insolvency Law of the Member States and to share practical experience and information on international best practices. The last part of the conference will highlight special insolvency issues, such as insolvency proceedings of members of a group of companies, civil and criminal liability of an insolvent company’s directors and the contribution of E-Justice to effectively address insolvency issues.

The Civil Law conference “Insolvency Law: Recent developments towards harmonisation” is co-organised by the Greek Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights together with the European Commission.